Resonance in Ploče Harbor (Adriatic Sea)

In this paper, we extract and validate high-frequency oscillations in the port of Ploče, based on sea level data from one year (March 2002-March 2003) measured at a tide gauge in the harbor. Frequency was analyzed by applying stationary (spectral) and non-stationary (wavelet and filtering) analyses of the data to extract temporal characteristics of the fundamental seiches with a period of 30 min. Seiches are pertinent throughout the year, but their maximum amplitude doubles (up to 25 cm) during the summer. Modeling studies showed that seiches are primarily a result of incoming waves from the open sea, generated by resonant coupling with air pressure traveling waves. In contrast, direct wind forcing has a minor influence on seiche generation. Seiches endanger ferries and small moored boats as well as large cargo ships in harbors where strong currents (greater than 50 cm s-1) appear during extreme events.